Child&#39;s swing

ABSTRACT

A swing employs a hollow U-shaped tubular frame having a top horizontal tube. An elongated vertical tube is pivotally secured at its upper end to the midpoint of the horizontal tube. A seat is secured to the vertical tube, and is free to swing back and forth below an in a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal tube. A clip extends horizontally over the horizontal tube at right angles thereto and has a spring at each end extending downwardly and inwardly toward the vertical tube.

United States Patent [191 ODowd 1 Mar. 27, 1973 [54] CHILD'S SWING [75]inventor: Joseph ODowd, Jersey City, NJ.

[73] Assignee: The Raymond Lee Organization,

Inc., New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Oct. 13, 1971 [21] Appl. N0.: 188,916

[52] US. Cl ..272/85 [51] Int. Cl. "A638 9/00 [58] Field of Search..273/85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 273/91, 92; 297/272, 273, 274, 275, 278,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,144,895 6/1915 England..272/54 3,171,653 3/1965 Pacuk ..272/87 Primary Examiner-Richard C.Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown Attorney-Richard S. Shreve,Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT A swing employs a hollow U-shaped tubular frame having atop horizontal tube. An elongated vertical tube is pivotally secured atits upper end to the midpoint of the horizontal tube. A seat is securedto the vertical tube, and is free to swing back and forth below an in avertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal tube. A clip extendshorizontally over the horizontal tube at right angles thereto and has aspring at eachend extending downwardly and inwardly toward the verticaltube.

3 Claims, No Drawings CHILD'S SWING FIELD or THE INVENTION My inventionis directed toward a child's swing requiring a minimum effort to operateand which holds a child safely and securely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To this end, I employ a vertical frame with anelongated horizontal member. An elongated vertical member is pivotallysecured at its upper end to the midpoint of the horizontally disposedmember and is free to swing back and forth in a vertical planeperpendicular to the horizontal member.

A horizontally elongated clip extends over the midpoint of thehorizontal member in a direction at right angles thereto. A separatecoil spring is secured to each end of the clip. The springs extenddownward and inward toward the vertical member.

In use, a child is disposed in a seat with means securing the seat tothe vertical member. The vertical member is then placed into swingingmotion. The excursion in each direction is limited by the springs whichare compressed upon contact and then return to normal expanded positionto enhance the swing action and reduce effort of the operator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section thereof;

FIG. 3 is a detail of a portion of the structure; and

FIG. 4 is a detail of the seat used in the structure of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS.1-4, parallel vertical inverted U shaped members have their verticallydownward extensions bearing against the ground 12 or other horizontalsurface. The midpoint of each horizontal portion of member 10 eachsupports a vertically upwardly extending stub 14.

Vertical hollow tubes 16 open at both ends each have its bottom andreceiving stub 14 as an insert. The top end of each tube 16 is tapereddownward and inward as shown at 18 to fit into the open bottom end ofvertical hollow legs 20 of a large inverted vertical inverted U shapedmember disposed at right angles to members 10 and extendingtherebetween. Legs 20 are joined by an integral horizontally elongatedelement 22.

A post has a vertical section 24 pivotally disposed at its top end aboutthe midpoint of element 22 whereby section 24 can pivot freely back andforth in a vertical plane disposed at right angles to element 22.

The bottom of section 24 has a short horizontal portion which terminatesin a vertically upwardly extending tip 28 lying in the plane.

A transversely extending horizontal clip 32 overlies the midpoint ofelement 22 and has at each end a downwardly and inwardly extendingspring 30 lying in the pivot plane whereby as section 24 swings andpivots it contacts one or the other of the springs and the direction ofswing is reversed.

A seat has a bottom horizontal section 46 detachably securable at itsbottom surface to tip 28. Top and bottom sections 34 and 36 arehin'gedly secured to opposite edges of section 32 and can be locked intovarious positions, varying from horizontal to upward for section 34 andvarying from horizontal to downward vertical for section 36. Thumbscrews38 hold the structure in place. With section 34 serving as a back andsection 36 serving as a leg support, protective sides 40 can be securedto the other edges of section 32 and extend upward. These sides can bedetached when not needed. The inner surfaces of the seat can beupholstered, and straps 42 can also be used as desired.

The structure so described can be used as a swing to entertain and amuseyoung children. The action of the springs reduces effort and provides asmoother swing action.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to thedrawings, such is not intended to be considered as limiting its actualscope.

Having thus described this invention, what is asserted as new is:

l. A childs swing comprising: a hollow frame having a top horizontalmember;

an elongated vertical member pivotally secured at its upper end to themidpoint of the horizontal member and free to swing back and forththerebelow in a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal member;

a seat; a means securing said seat to the bottom of the vertical member;and

additional means provided with springs for engaging and for limiting theexcursions of the vertical member.

2. The swing of claim 1 wherein said additional means includes ahorizontally elongated clip secured on top of the horizontal member atits midpoint and extending at right angles to the horizontal member,said clip having springs oppositely disposed at opposite ends.

3. The swing of claim 2 wherein said springs extend downward and inwardtoward the vertical member.

1. A child''s swing comprising: a hollow frame having a top horizontalmember; an elongated vertical member pivotally secured at its upper endto the midpoint of the horizontal member and free to swing back andforth therebelow in a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontalmember; a seat; a means securing said seat to the bottom of the verticalmember; and additional means provided with springs for engaging and forlimiting the excursions of the vertical member.
 2. The swing of claim 1wherein said additional means includes a horizontally elongated clipsecured on top of the horizontal member at its midpoint and extending atright angles to the horizontal member, said clip having springsoppositely disposed at opposite ends.
 3. The swing of claim 2 whereinsaid springs extend downward and inward toward the vertical member.